Hong includes $75K in earmarks for Lowell
By Melanie Gilbert
LOWELL >> In April, the Massachusetts House voted 149-9 to pass a fiscal 2027 state spending plan totaling $63.4 billion. Included in the House budget is $75,000 in local earmarks filed by 18th Middlesex District state Rep. Tara Hong.
Among those earmarks, the Merrimack Valley Food Bank received $25,000 to help fund their Operation Nourish Program, Coalition for a Better Acre received $25,000 for a teen podcast and media training program and the Bailey Elementary School received $25,000 toward improvements of the playground.
“I am also proud to have co-filed an amendment with Representatives Consalvo and Ashe to include $350,000 for Catie’s Closet in the House FY 27 Budget,” Hong said in a May statement. “This funding will help Catie’s Closet continue their work of providing K-12 students with in-school access to clothing, toiletries and other necessities.”
Hong was also a co-sponsor on a statewide amendment filed by Reps. Sean Garballey of Arlington and Chynah Tyler of Boston for $9.2 million to the Massachusetts Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs, which will benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell.
The House Ways and Means budget proposal for fiscal 2027 increased the Chapter 70 local aid allocation for Lowell Public Schools by $14.4 million. The budget increases the minimum aid per pupil from $104 to $160.
The budget also included unrestricted general government aid, commonly called UGGA, to Lowell for $31,592,675, a slight increase of nearly $237,000 over fiscal 2026.
In a survey he filled out for Ballotpedia, Hong said he immigrated to Lowell with his family in 2013 from Cambodia when he was 13 years old. He attended Lowell Public Schools and Middlesex Community College. In 2022, Hong graduated from UMass Lowell with a major in political science and a minor in criminal justice.
Prior to being elected to his State House seat, Hong worked as a community advocate at local nonprofits and served on various community boards such as Mill City Grows and the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association of Greater Lowell.
Hong, a then-24-year-old activist, knocked five-term incumbent Rady Mom out of the Democratic race for the 18th Middlesex District seat in the 2024 state primary. Hong won the November general election against unenrolled candidate David Ouellette, becoming the youngest member of the Legislature. His current term ends in January 2027.
Constituent services, education and affordable housing were Hong’s top campaign messages.
The freshman representative is being challenged for his seat by Lowell City Councilor Sokhary Chau. The seat encompasses the Acre, Highlands and Lower Highlands sections of the city. The Democratic primary is Sept. 1.
For the 2025-2026 legislative year, Hong was assigned to the Community Development and Small Businesses Joint Committee, Higher Education Joint Committee, Election Laws Joint Committee and the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Joint Committee.
The Senate Ways and Means Committee is expected to release its own fiscal 2027 budget plan this month. The Senate typically debates and passes its budget in the week before Memorial Day. The new fiscal year starts July 1, but Massachusetts usually has to rely on an interim budget to buy legislative negotiators more time to reach a compromise budget.
Gov. Maura Healey has 10 days to review the budget and take action to either approve or veto the budget. The governor may approve or veto the entire budget, veto or reduce specific line items, veto outside sections or submit changes as an amendment to the budget for further consideration by the Legislature.
Following any legislative overrides to the governor’s actions, the budget is finalized and is commonly referred to as the “General Appropriations Act” for the upcoming fiscal year.